Compliant Paraplanning Services for UK adviser firms
Capacity cost illustration

Outsourced versus employed paraplanning calculator.

Use your own assumptions to compare annual employment cost and cost per productive case with an illustrative outsourced spend.

For UK adviser firmsReviewed 6 August 2026By Compliant Paraplanning Services
How to use it

Enter an annual salary, employer on-cost percentage, other annual fixed costs, expected productive case volume and an average outsourced fee. The tool estimates annual cost, cost per case and the volume at which the entered employed and outsourced figures are equal.

Pension, National Insurance and similar costs; replace the illustration with your figure.
For example recruitment, software, training, equipment and allocated overhead.
Estimated employed annual cost£52,200
Estimated employed cost per case£326
Illustrative outsourced annual spend£28,000
Illustrative equal-cost volume299 cases

How to interpret the result

The equal-cost volume is not a hiring recommendation. Employment can offer dedicated capacity, continuity and closer integration; outsourcing can offer flexibility and avoid fixed capacity during uneven demand. The practical decision also depends on technical fit, supervision, resilience, turnaround, data handling and the adviser time left after each case.

Costs the calculator may not capture

  • Management, supervision and quality-assurance time
  • Recruitment lead time, absence, turnover and unused capacity
  • Different complexity and output quality between cases
  • Onboarding, secure access, rework and transition effort
  • VAT where applicable and changes to tax or employment costs

Frequently asked questions

What does the paraplanning cost calculator compare?

It compares an illustrative annual employment cost and cost per productive case with an illustrative outsourced annual spend at the same case volume. It also estimates the case volume at which the two entered costs are equal.

Does the calculator include every employment or outsourcing cost?

No. It uses only the figures entered and cannot capture every cost, tax rule, absence, management burden, recruitment risk, complexity difference, rework issue or capacity constraint. It is a planning illustration, not financial, tax or employment advice.

Should firms choose the lowest calculated option?

Not automatically. Firms should also compare control, continuity, quality, turnaround, adviser review time, data risk, flexibility and access to the right case experience.

Related guidance

This client-side tool sends no figures to CPS. Results are approximate planning illustrations, not financial, tax, accounting or employment advice. Verify all assumptions independently.